Can't get "Win10 mobile hotspot" to work. Need advice.

I'm sure I had this working before sometime in the past, but now that I'm running 1909 and actually wanting to use the facility, naturally it no longer works. I've done lots of searching, and have found many "solutions" from assorted sources. But no matter what I try I still can't get it to work.

So I'm looking for some experts here to point me in the right direction.

(1) I have a Lenovo P70 laptop running Win10 Pro 1909, connected via ethernet cable to a router/modem and thus to the internet. No problem. The P70's IP address is 192.168.131.1.

(2) The P70's WiFi capability is able of being used as a mobile hotspot. So I've gone Settings -> Network -> Mobile Hotspot -> turned on "share my internet connection with other devices. And sure enough the existing ethernet connection name shows in the "share my internet connection from" box. So far all looks good.



I also created a network SSID, password, an "any available network band", to support both 2.4/5 GHz connections.

NOTE: I found one article on the internet which said that this checkbox should NOT BE CHECKED!! But I don't believe that is correct. So this is how every other "how to" recipe says to do it, and that is how I currently have things set.

(3) Then Related settings -> change adapter options (to produce the Network Connections window), and I see both my wired ethernet connection as well as the newly created Mobile Hotspot WiFi connection (whose name is now "local area connection* 15" although it was originally 11 as I recall, no doubt because of all my failed re-tries at this).

(4) I then select my wired ethernet connection, right-click, select Properties, select Sharing tab, and then in the dropdown box for "home networking connection" select the item for "local area connection* 15". Then I check the "allow other network users to connect through this computer's network connection".

So its Status -> details looks as follows:



(5) I then select the mobile hotspot connection, right-click, select Properties, select the Sharing tab, and then again Status -> details, and it looks as follows:



Note that the hotspot has been assigned IP address 192.168.137.1 by Windows, which I believe is as it is supposed to be. However also not that DHCP is NOT ENABLED. I don't know how clients attempting to connect to the hotspot will then get an IP address, if DHCP is not enabled!! This has to be relevant, I believe. Anyway, this is what is automatically created by Windows, so I left it alone.

(6) I then try to connect to the hotspot with my Android phone, the network SSID is detected. But when I tap on the "connect" for it, it struggles and struggles and finally errors with "failed to obtain IP address". This seems awfully suspicious, since "DHCP NO" is in effect for the hotspot connection.

Am I supposed to manually enter an IP address on the phone, using 192.168.137.1 as the gateway?? How can that be correct? And what IP address should I use, if this were true?

I found an article on the internet that says that the "virtual IP address" of a client (like the phone) connecting through the hotspot would actually be seen as the SAME IP address as that of the P70 itself. That also seems impossible.

What I would have expected is that the hotspot itself acts as a "switch" acts, simply as a pass-through conduit so that the IP address of one or more connected clients are passed through to the primary router (i.e. 192.168.1.1) associated with my wired ethernet connection. And then that 192.168.1.1 router assigns an IP address to the client which is connected to the hotspot. So, say, my phone might 192.168.1.132 assigned by the router... exactly as would happen when connecting any client device through a switch (or a WiFi router configured to operate in "access point mode", where it really becomes a "switch" but also with wired/wireless ability to connect to the switch).

In any case, the phone failed to connect. I didn't get an IP address from anywhere.

(7) I then tried to connect a second Dell laptop to the P70's hotspot, through the Dell's WiFi ability. And sure enough the Dell saw the network SSID of the P70's hotspot. But when I try to connect and enter the password, it struggles for a while and finally completes but unsuccessfully. It shows as "identifying, no internet access" if I hover the mouse over the network icon in the notification area.

If I go to Settings -> WiFI it shows the name of the hotspot SSID, and "no internet, secured". So it's actually gotten connected, somehow, but can't see the Internet?? I think this is just an anomaly in Win10 if there's no proper IP address returned from the connection.

If I then go to Network Connections, right-click on the WiFi connection and select Stauts, it shows the proper SSID. But amazingly, pushing the Details button shows an IP address of 169.254.112.69 as well as "DHCP enabled"! Obviously something's not right.

I suspect it never did get an IP address assigned, same as the phone didn't.


Ok. What have I done wrong, or incorrectly?

Is there anything you want me to try, or provide more detailed info on?

Please help!! I really do need to use the second Dell laptop as well as the P70, and I don't want to use them one at a time. And I only have one wired ethernet connection capability at this location, and don't have a real "switch" with me that could be used as a wired workaround.

The creation of the new Hotspot SSID network on the laptop (which is itself connected to the internet via ethernet cable, and which is the internet connection which is going to be shared via this Win10 Mobile Hotspot) is certainly described by Brink in his tutorial. That is the guide, and that is what I did. Except that it doesn't work because no client devices can successfully connect to the hotspot as expected!

And many internet articles essentially provide the very same steps and instructions and guide as Brink's tutorial does. So the "recipe" is well known. Except that it's not working for me.

I don't know if the issue is my use of BitDefender as my anti-virus, which is "protecting" me. Or if it's something more recent say that MS maybe has broken somewhere in 1803 -> 1909. Or, again, maybe it's something else I just haven't thought of yet.

Everything in my current configuration, including the 192.168.137.1 for the hotspot IP address (clearly separate from my 192.168.1.1 of the real internet router my real LAN ethernet connection is part of), all looks good. But my Android phone and second latpop cannot successfully connect to the hotspot and/or then get to the internet successfully.

Then there is the question about what SHOULD the IP address be on the phone and second laptop, if this were successful? Should it be IDENTICAL to the IP of the P70 which is hosting the Mobile Hotspot? Should it be another IP from the primary router? Should it be something from the Mobile Hotspot as if that were a real DHCP server (e.g. giving out 192.168.137.2, etc.)?

I'm asking help and info from somebody here who actually has set this up successfully. Just provide your own screenshots of your own versions of what I have posted, and with the answers to my questions. If it works for you, still today with 1909, please share your secrets to success with me.

Thanks.


NOTE: I, too, have been able to share my phone's internet connection connecting it to a laptop with a USB cable, and using "USB tethering". The laptop, via the USB connection rather than Bluetooth, uses the phone's internet access from Verizon.

Same concept here. The P70 is connected to Comcast via ethernet cable to a router/modem connected to Comcast. then the P70 Win10 Mobile Hotspot feature broadcasts its own WiFi SSID, and lets nearby client devices connect wirelessly to the hotspot, and then through the P70's shared ethernet connection on to the internet.

Nothing extraordinary here. The only problem is that no client can connect successfully via WiFi to the Win10 mobile hotspot running on the P70.

Why not?

Caledon Ken said:

On the device that you are trying to connect with could you click the network connection icon in the systray (Notification area). It should bring up the list of networks. On the mobile hotspot could you click properties. This should bring up a panel where you can either use DHCP (Automatic) or set manually. If set to manual you get to set gateway etc. If yours is not on Automatic could you try with Automatic.

Yes. On the Dell laptop it already is showing IP Settings -> IP assignment -> automatic (DHCP).

But that can't possibly work, because the Hotspot on the P70 shows "DHCP NO". DHCP is not enabled, so the Dell laptop will not be receiving an IP address.

That essentially is the identical problem as seen on the Android phone, where the attempted connection (with the correct password) fails to complete, with the error "failed to get an IP address".

That is really my point. How can this ever possibly work if the Hotspot IS NOT DHCP ENABLED??? How can a client PC or phone every really connect to the Hotspot via WiFi unless it is given an IP address and the Hotspot becomes the default gateway?

I guess I don't really understand how this "shared internet connection" is supposed to look when working properly? What are the correct IP addresses to see for each of the points in the overall network?

Isn't anybody who might be following this thread actually DOING THIS? Is anybody using Mobile hotspot? If so, can you please share your IP values, screenshots, etc.?

Is the Hotspot supposed to be 192.168.137.1 and also DHCP NO? If not, what do you show in your successful configuration?

- - - Updated - - -

Caledon Ken said:

Could you also check that wired lan connection is set as Private. Last week I clean installed my system and as I poked around today I noticed it was set to public.

Nope. Private it is.

Everything's perfect.

Except it doesn't allow clients to connect to the Hotspot. And how can it, if DHCP is NO for the Hotspot?

How is a client supposed to get an IP address... if that is actually supposed to be what happens, and the Hotspot serves as a WiFi-based access point, relaying on to the main router of the shared ethernet connection. That would give an IP address to the Hotspot client from DHCP of the main router. This would work fine... if it worked, which it is not!!

So, again, how is the client connecting to the Hotspot supposed to be delivered a usable IP? Who gives out that IP address? Can't be the Hotspot (DHCP NO). Seems it can only be the main ethernet router (DHCP YES), or else the client is supposed to get the very same IP address as the Hotspot (191.168.136.1) or ethernet connection (192.168.1.1), both of which seem impossible and inappropriate to me.

But then what do I know? That's why I'm pleading for help from someone who actually has an operational successful wWn10 Mobile Hotspot running right this second, to please share.

Caledon Ken said:

Well you are get an address. The ipv4 address would start with 169 if it didn't have a valid address.

Interesting that it is on a different subnet.

That's why I'm perplexed.

Here is the network connections on my P70. Mobile Hotspot is enabled, as previously described. But I still cannot connect successfully to it either via my Android phone nor my Dell laptop.



The ethernet connection is 192.168.1.1, DHCP YES. Shared Internet checkbox checked, Mobile Hotspot connection listed.
The Mobile Hotspot connection is 192.168.137.1, DHCP NO.